The biggest innovation in sperm selection technology in 30 years: the first syringe to separate high-quality sperm in 15 minutes

Monash University has developed a syringe that uses a 3D filter to detect viable sperm, which can improve sperm quality selection by 65%, bringing new hope
to infertile couples.

The world's first syringe that can isolate high-quality sperm in 15 minutes is the biggest innovation
in sperm selection technology in 30 years.
This breakthrough by Monash University's bioengineering research team utilizes simple plastic syringe technology that can be easily produced on a large scale, bringing hope and cheaper treatment options
to 180 million infertility patients worldwide.

The syringe works by drawing 1.
5 ml of semen into one chamber, which is then passed through a network
of 560 parallel microchannels (small cylinders).
High-quality sperm enter the selection chamber through microchannels, where they can be extracted, leaving inferior sperm there
.
The process took less than 15 minutes and was able to extract more than 41% of healthy sperm
from the sample.

Using this method, researchers can improve the quality of sperm selection by more than
65 percent.
This greatly reduces the need for complex and invasive intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedures (injecting one sperm into one egg) and facilitates artificial insemination
directly into the uterus.
This innovation will ultimately allow couples seeking fertility treatment to achieve higher success rates
at a lower cost.

"Sperm selection is a critical part of infertility treatment, but traditional clinical sperm selection methods have not changed in the last 30 years," said
Dr.
Resa Nosrati.
"Due to the lack of technological development, the success rate of the treatment method has stagnated at 35%.

With sperm syringes, we can select sperm with more than 65% improvement in DNA integrity and morphology (composition), and since DNA quality is directly related to fertilization success, we hope to improve the results of
assisted reproductive technology (ART).
This technology can help standardize and streamline the sperm selection process
in fertility clinics.
”

The study, published in dvanced Materials Technologies, was led by PhD candidate Farin Yazdan Parast and supervised by Professor Reza Nosrati and Professor Moira O'Bryan
.

Ms Yazdan Parast said: "The sperm syringe provides a high-throughput device to purify sperm and select sperm
in one step.
The 3D sorting platform enables highly parallel and rapid sorting
by arranging microchannels in a 3D structure to maximize the contact area between the semen sample and the selection event.
Due to this rather high surface-to-volume ratio, active sperm can easily be found and enter the microchannel, leaving the original sample there
.
This provides an efficient selection mechanism that outperforms traditional clinical methods and other state-of-the-art sperm selection techniques
.
”

The sperm syringe has been patented, and researchers are studying how to commercialize the device for use in fertility clinics
.
Further clinical trials
are also planned.